This application is a non-provisional application based on provisional application Ser. No. 60/441,934, filed Jan. 24, 2003.
Supersonic aircraft designed with thin, low sweep wings designed for extensive natural laminar flow tend to have low torsional stiffness. In subsonic flight the center of pressure is typically ahead of the wing torsional elastic center creating a moment twisting the wingtip to higher angle of attack—“wash-in”. At supersonic conditions the center of pressure is much closer to the wing elastic center, reducing or reversing the “wash-in”. A wing with a twist distribution optimized for supersonic cruise will thus have significant “wash-in” at subsonic speeds. This induces pre-mature tip stall, reducing the maximum achievable wing lift and creating undesirable control characteristics, at stall.
Thin supersonic airfoil sections with low camber also have significant drag penalties at subsonic conditions due leading edge vortex drag. This penalty increases at high subsonic Mach number cruise conditions with a pronounced drag rise.
There is need for improvements in thin, supersonic wings, as disclosed herein.